Community Court

Community Court focuses on misdemeanor quality of life crimes such as theft, drinking in public, and trespass. The court is an early resolution program that encourages defendants to take responsibility for their conduct and pay-back their community in exchange for a dismissal or a sentence of discharge.

Defendants who enter this program have two options. They can either perform community service with a local agency, so their labor goes back into the community harmed by their criminal conduct. Or they can participate in social services to address the underlying issue that led to their criminal activity.

Community Court is a court of accountability. Defendants must plead guilty at or shortly after the criminal case is commenced. By doing so, this program reduces the size of criminal dockets and saves valuable resources that would otherwise be spent sending the case through the traditional court system.